Page 50 of The Alpha and the Baker
And that wassofucking hot.
His face lowered, and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me again, but instead he spoke, the outline of his lips barely brushing mine. It drove me crazy, albeit the best kind of crazy. “What I really want to do is get that dress off of you and have dessert.”
Fuck.
Maybe someone else would find that cheesy, but I was all for it. I crashed my mouth to his, and he nipped at my bottom lip, his fingers biting into the soft swell of my hips.
I didn’t think I’d ever told him I liked a little bit of rough with my pleasure—that strength and prowess turned me on just as much as kindness and humor, and yet somehow he knew. He justknew.
Almost like we were meant to be.
Hold your horses there, girlie.
That was about the last coherent thought before Cas’s hand slid up my arm, warm and firm. Then, despite his strength, he gently plucked the straps of my dress from my shoulders and slid it down my arms.
I stared into his green gaze, utterly captivated by what I saw there.
I was a fairly confident woman. Most people found me attractive, and I had an asset that was frankly spectacular. But I had plenty of flaws, and even the most conventionally attractive woman in the world would feel a bit nervous about being laid bare in front of someone new. Anxiety welled up inside me.
Would he see the swell of my stomach, what I called my baker’s pooch, and be disgusted? If he was, then good riddance. At least that’s what one part of my mind said. But that little, insecure voice in the back of my head whispered insidiously about each and every insecurity I had.
But all thought fled when Cas gently pushed the fabric of my dress down, and I sawexactlyhow he was looking at me.
I didn’t know that a simple movement of fabric could be so impactful, but it felt like an actual physical weight as it slid down past my bralette, my waist, my pooch, before stopping at the swell of my hips and ass. With one last ghost of a touch from Cas’s thick, calloused fingers, the satiny fabric fell in a puddle to the floor.
“You are fuckingexquisite,” Cas breathed like he was seeing some beautiful art piece. Desire, lust, appreciation, and something so much softer, something vulnerable, all played across his chiseled features. That intense stare of his made me feel like I was indeed the roof of the Sistine Chapel, or theMona Lisaherself. Maybe even theBirth of Venus.
He looked at me like I was a masterpiece.
Fuck, did he haveanyidea what he was doing with just a glance? It almost felt like a natural reaction that he couldn’t help rather than some purposeful seduction. Except I was wholly seduced.
“You’re not even done unwrapping me,” I said, glad that I’d thought ahead and worn a matching emerald-green lace set that matched my dress. I looked waymore put together than I normally was. My usual go-to under my baking uniform was boxers and worn-out sports bras I’d had since college.
“No, I’m very much not,” he growled, andholy shit,I didn’t know his voice could go that low. Goosebumps spread out across my skin only to be soothed when his nearly burning palms cupped my face and pulled me into another kiss.
God, I really liked kissing him.
My hands fell to his waist. I thought about yanking his belt off, but I couldn’t get myself together enough to even dream of touching the buckle. I was completely enraptured by him, devoured in a way I never knew was possible.
His hands slowly glided down my neck, then across my shoulders, his broad fingers gently tracing my clavicle like it was something sacred. The goosebumps were back, stronger than ever, only to be soothed when his lips followed the same path.
“Castiel…” I murmured as he kissed down the side of my neck, each practically a brand on my skin. I loved the burn of it, the heat. My blood rushed in my veins, and I reveled in it.
“Fuck, you smell incredible,” he said, his lips moving against my pulse point like he couldn’t bear to be even a centimeter away from my skin. And maybe he couldn’t, because the next thing I knew, his teeth were scraping against that sensitive spot on my neck.
“You can bite me,” I whispered. Wow, my voice sounded really ragged. Normally, it would have embarrassed me, but I was too into it to care. “I like it.”
Cas’s entire body shuddered, and he pulled me flush against him. I felt his hard length press into my stomach.
Why hello there,I mused to myself, my thoughts growing even cloudier.
“I can’t,” he rasped.
Hecouldn’t? That was a strange way for him to phrase it. But I was distracted from asking any more questions as he kissed his way down to my shoulders, and his broad, warm hands cupped my breasts.
Fuck, it was just a simple, firm touch, but it made my breath hitch. Perhaps it was the promise of what was to come, perhaps it was the way the lacy fabric moved against my nipples. He pulled the bralette down a second later, leaving me only in my lacy panties.
“Perfect,” Cas hissed as his hands slipped under the swell of my ass. Before I could even take a breath, I was being hauled off my feet.
